Not that often, actually
The bar is always set high for second-person ledes, and this is among the reasons why:
How many times have you cast aside a craving for sushi just to appease a raw-fish-repulsed dining companion?
Generally, you don't want your pronouns to tell readers at the outset that they aren't welcome in your world. Ledes that implicitly ask "are you a Charlotte yupster who's stuck with the sort of friends who still think salt, pepper and Sweet-n-Lo are fine herbs and spices?" poke a chopstick in the reader's eye. Don't do that.
How many times have you cast aside a craving for sushi just to appease a raw-fish-repulsed dining companion?
Generally, you don't want your pronouns to tell readers at the outset that they aren't welcome in your world. Ledes that implicitly ask "are you a Charlotte yupster who's stuck with the sort of friends who still think salt, pepper and Sweet-n-Lo are fine herbs and spices?" poke a chopstick in the reader's eye. Don't do that.
Labels: ledes
posted by fev at 9:06 AM
3 Comments:
When I read the subhed, I immediately thought, "Whaaat? Raw chicken? Raw bacon??"
Yeah, but the Health Department made 'em leave the raw egg out of the chicken tartare.
I once attempted to spike a second-person lede that implied "you" were a member of a particular rural school board. I was scolded for trying to change the lede from "how people actually talk" to "journalese." Umm. OK.
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